May Monday Forum Welcomes National Geographic CEO

Gary Knell (National Geographic Society)

(Update, 28 April 2017) Gary Knell, president and CEO of National Geographic Society will be the featured guest at the next First Monday Forum on Monday, May 1, 2017. Knell brings first-hand experience in international multimedia publishing to his background in print, broadcast, and digital media.

Gary Knell oversees the Society’s vast nonprofit activities globally. He also serves as chair of the board of National Geographic Partners, the Society’s for-profit arm that oversees all of National Geographic’s storytelling assets, including television, print, and digital, and ancillary operations, which include travel expeditions.

His career in media spans more than three decades, including 22 years at Sesame Workshop, where he served as president and CEO for 12 years. Prior to Sesame Workshop, Knell was managing director of Manager Media International, a multimedia publishing company based in Bangkok, Hong Kong, and Singapore. He also served as senior vice president at WNET/Channel 13 in New York, was counsel to the U.S. Senate Judiciary and Governmental Affairs Committees in Washington, D.C., and worked in the California State Legislature and Governor’s Office.

Monday forums are a joint project of the USC Center on Public Diplomacy, USC Annenberg Center on Communication Leadership and Policy, and Public Diplomacy Council. The event takes place on Monday, May 1, 2017, and begins at a special time — 11:30 am — at AFSA headquarters, 2101 E Street NW, Washington DC (Foggy Bottom metro). Sandwiches and refreshments will be served. The discussion begins at noon.